| Interview with Tsunamy and Penguin |
My worst moment was having to tell Bel we revoked his citizenship
Interview with Tsunamy and PenguinPies Kris Montresor: Thanks for agreeing to meet here. Unless I am mistaken, this is the first Delegate/Vice Delegate joint interview, so certainly a pretty special occasion. Tsunamy: OMG. Go us! First joint interview.  Penguin: It’s cuz we be awesome! And Tsu-Pen-dous. Kris: I want to start by talking about this term and how your working relationship, before moving on to your campaign and hopes for a second term. Penguin: Okie. Tsunamy: Sounds good. Kris: Can you explain a bit about your relationship? How do you divide your work, coordinate policies? Tsunamy: Honestly, Pen and I are in pretty much constant contact – despite busy schedules. So, the coordination sort of just happens, but we’re always on top of what the other is thinking. Penguin: He is almost ready for my phone number. (chuckles) Tsunamy: That’s totally true. Pen is on my phone more than the boy. Penguin: Ditto. Our relationship is however strictly professional. Tsunamy: LOL. Kris: lol. Tsunamy: Totally professional. *Kris starts the Southern Gossip newspaper* Kris: Aside from frequency of contact, how is your relationship? Mostly horizontal and making decisions together, or does Tsu always have the final word on policy? Tsunamy: I think we have a horizontal power. I certainly don’t expect her to fall in line with me if she disagrees, and [we] always talk through concerns. Penguin: There are the rare times when Tsu and I disagree. But he takes my opinion into consideration and if he doesn’t fall in line he lets me know beforehand so that we can present a united front. I respect his decisions and stand by his choices. Tsunamy: Awe.  Penguin: Except the cake one. I can’t forgive that. Kris: Totally going to misquote that and claim there will be a Pen-coup. Penguin: I’m cool with that.  On the Challenges of this Term Kris: Speaking more broadly about this term. It has had its good moments and bad moments. What would to say were the best and worst moments of the term? Tsunamy: I think my best moment was the election and when you turned over the delegacy. It wasn’t really anything that I ever aspired to, but it still felt good to be given such power by the electorate. I’ll say that my worst moment – bar none – was having to tell Bel we revoked his citizenship. It wasn’t something the Cabinet came to lightly and not something that I took any pleasure in doling out. Penguin: That and the infighting and the tone this term took. It was kind of depressing. Kris: That actually leads us to three topics I wanted to discuss. Tsu, you have been here since early 2003. What made you decide that November 2014 was the time to go for Delegate, and how did you decide that Penguin should be your VD? Penguin: Cuz I’m awesome. Tsunamy: ^ That. But seriously, I decided to run because there had been so much swirling about TSP going defender or raider or whatnot – whether that’s a fair characterization or not. I felt I was in a unique position, as someone who has always been in TSP, to mend fences. I was looking for someone with a similar background. Pen fit that description well, and since we had already worked together when I was Chair of the Assembly, I knew she would be a good match. Kris: In this term we have disagreed on a lot of issues, and at times we had very tense interactions between Ministers. How did you learn to handle those situations? Is there a way to handle them at all? Penguin: It made it very hard to be a part of TSP sometimes. I feel that personally I let too many people talk down to me, and if elected next term that WILL stop. We don’t have to be united, but we do have to be nice and civil. Tsunamy: I’ll throw out there that I’m not sure we figured out how to handle those situations completely. A lot of it was us tag teaming because when it just got too heated, I at least, had to check out for a bit. Penguin: We need to clean up our act and make it a home again. This term it felt more like a battleground. Tsunamy: I’ll second that. Kris: You know, I find that quite interesting, Tsu. Usually one expects the Delegate to be on top of all situations and know how to handle them. But when you are actually in the seat, you realise that some situations just can’t be handled easily. Tsunamy: I hear that, Kris. Honestly, this is a lot of where I wanted the campaign platform to go this term. I think we too heavily invest powers into the Delegate that should be doled out elsewhere – either to other Cabinet members or to the Assembly. Kris: Any specific examples? Tsunamy: I don’t have specific examples, but I think there’s the idea – especially by some of the Ministers – that the Delegate should have the final say. Kris: I’m not sure that is entirely accurate. I think the impression is that the Delegate’s opinion has more weight, so having him/her on your side is desirable. Penguin: To a point. Tsunamy: I suppose that’s fair. It’s just pressured – whether the final say or a “weighted say”. Penguin: I think having the Delegate aware of most things is one thing, but having final weighted say in all is another. Tsunamy: To follow up on Pen – I would sooner tell me when I’m off base on something. The times when I got really angry was when someone would look to us for a course of action and then we were still told how wrong we were. Kris: Probably part of the priority next term will be to clarify where to draw the line, in terms of personal responsibility for Ministers? Tsunamy: I agree with that needing to be a priority. As I said, I’d like to give the Cabinet the ultimate say in the decisions over their areas and – hopefully – Ministers will work more together than going through us. Kris: Also, maybe people come more to the Delegate when they feel their view will be challenged by other Minister, so they felt they’ll need more authoritative support? Tsunamy: I think you’re right there, too. Sometimes, I felt like it was a rush, who could get to us first. Penguin: I would also like to point out that we need to make it clear that one person is elected to a post. One person, along with the Delegate and the Vice Delegate, get to have final say. It takes a team effort, but not a bullying effort. We need to put personal feelings aside and do what’s best for TSP, not for ourselves or for other regions. Kris: I think the problem is in agreeing what is best for TSP, Pen. Penguin: I agree to a point. Tsunamy: Our system of government – with regard to the Cabinet – is this really push and pull. Kris: I mean, I don’t have a solution or an answer, but part of the problem is it’s to be expected that we won’t always agree on what is best, and in a way that’s a good thing, because we won’t always be doing what is best, even if we believe it is. Debate is positive, as long as we know to keep it civil. Tsunamy: Absolutely. Debate is great if it’s civil. I also think we had some interesting conflicts of interest in the Cabinet this term. Which didn’t always work out for the best. I think probably key, too, is knowing when to step back from a situation – as I did regarding Dali’s citizenship rejection. Kris: Which leads us to Belschaft’s removal and the citizenship denials. Many have accused the Cabinet of exploiting the security argument for political purposes. How to respond to that, and how justified was the Cabinet’s course of action? Tsunamy: There’s nothing political about it. It’s not as though Bel has this huge following that we had to kick him out. Look at his last election results. Penguin: It wasn’t easy, and I’ll be the first to admit to second thoughts about the situation. However, his behavior made it almost necessary. However unwanted. Tsunamy: Exactly. I was seriously concerned about what would happen if he had less established players in these positions. Kris: Some people question the use of ‘security threat’ for people that aren’t threatening the in game delegacy. Is it time we had a serious discussion and open debate about what constitutes a security threat? Penguin: I think we are doing that now. Tsunamy: Agreed. I think it should be debated. The idea of a security threat is malleable and everyone is going to have a different idea on it. That’s why our laws need to have a balance of definition and open interpretation. Penguin: The tough part is making sure we do what’s best for TSP. Kris: Does that include individuals that might not have done anything ‘to TSP’, provided there is a reasonable suspicion that they might if given citizenship or allowed to keep it? Tsunamy: It’s really hard to speculate on such things without hard facts or examples. I think we have to deal with these situations as they come and TSP will be doing that through court cases and Assembly discussions. Ideas for the Second Term Kris: What will a second term look like? Tsunamy: I think that’s very much to be decided. It’ll depend on what our Cabinet looks like and what the upcoming Local Council elections look like. I’m hoping there will be less infighting – both in the Cabinet and in the Assembly. Kris: However, in terms of the overall issues you would hope to tackle. Maybe more cultural festivals? Approaching more regions? Improving communications with allies? Couping? Tsunamy: We would certainly like to reach out to more regions. I think some festivals would also be good. I’d certainly like to swing another flash mob or two. Again, I’ll personally be interested to see what the Cabinet offers. I think we have a lot of activity during the election – and with the upswing of NS activity – it’ll be important to capitalize on it. Kris: Anyone you don’t want to see elected? Maybe that annoying Kringalia guy?  Tsunamy: LOL. I find it good policy to stay neutral. We’ll need to work with whoever wins. Except RON, of course. That guy’s an asshat. Kris: DELEGATE BIAS. Tsunamy: Exactly. Kris: Tsu tried a Coup Friday, it could’ve gone better. Will we see more attempts? Tsunamy: IDK…I mean…I didn’t think Coup Friday went terribly, but I suppose my serious façade didn’t help the situation. Penguin: I think more interregional activities and more regional activities are definitely on the work, but that will mostly be up to the new MoRA. Kris: Penguin, you’ve been VD for four months. Any specific area that interests you, that you’ll probably focus on this new term? Penguin: FA. I really wanted to see us going more towards opening ourselves back up to new people, but it didn’t happen like I’d hoped. The Basic Questions Kris: Tsu, Cake or Pie? Tsunamy: I think I’m decided on Boston Crème Pie. It’s both pie and cake. Kris: You are given a lampshade and a grass skirt. What do you do next? Tsunamy: Order a SPIT. Kris: You chose wisely. Penguin: THAT DOESN’T COUNT, TSU!!! IT’S GROSS!!! Tsunamy: South Pacific Iced Tea is delicious. Kris:: Pen, same two questions. Penguin: Chocolate Cream Pie and I’d go dancing. Tsunamy: Or no Boston Crème Pie? I love it. Penguin: I meant your Boston Pie nasties!! Tsunamy: Yum. Kris: You chose poorly with the pie.  Penguin: Never. Kris: Any final comments? Penguin: Vote for us because we are Tsu-Pen-dously awesome? Tsunamy: Just thanks for the interview, and thanks to the region for believing in us! I hope we’re doing you proud! And…yes…let’s keep sailing towards Tsu-Pen-dous! Kris: Thanks! It’s been a great interview. Best of luck to you both. Tsunamy: Likewise! Ciao guys! Note: this interview has been edited from its original version to make edits in terms of grammar and ortography. Southern Journal does not necessarily share or endorse the views expressed in the answers of those being interviewed. Former Delegate of the South Pacific
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Good interview.
Yay!
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